Fresh Beginnings of Ends
by VidelKM
Summary: This story's old and most likely sucks. But everything leads up to something! And it's a pretty interesting something. =]
1. How it Came to Be

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Prologue  
The Plymouth Neon 2001 occupied two Chinese people. They both were speaking to each other in perfect English and the male was scolding the younger female because she went out. The car turned on Second Street and found a huge blockage. There were fire trucks, ambulances and policemen surrounding the street.  
  
"What's going on? What's the firemen doing here?" Aaron Phan questioned as soon as he returned home from picking up his little sister from downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  
  
"Look An-ge^1!" she pointed, "There's a fire on the apartment complex! Oh no! Please don't let anything happen to mom, dad and Mei-jie^2!"  
  
Aaron parked his car quickly and rushed up to the apartment complex where they lived. The policemen and firemen blocked the two from approaching the building any closer. The two struggled to get past them, to see if their parents and their sister, Maria, was okay. From the closer view, Wendy could tell that the fire was burning rapidly in the apartment that they lived in. She pointed it out to Aaron before she passed out, Aaron catching her before she hit the hard, cold cement.  
  
  
Chapter 1  
It was quite different for Wendy ever since the incident that caused the death of her parents and older sister. Her brother, Aaron, saw how hurt Wendy was after the incident. Everything in Philadelphia reminded her of her family. Since Aaron was already twenty-three years old, he kept custody of Wendy and was responsible for her well being. He decided to move.  
  
At first, Wendy was extremely against it. The only people that comforted her besides her brother, were her friends at school. She couldn't bear to be separated from the one thing that didn't remind her of the deaths so easily. After some time, Aaron managed to point out that Wendy was still miserable, and that they were still going to move.  
  
And so they packed. Aaron talked to a few of his close friends and asked what was a good place to go. Some of his friends recommended going to New York City, others recommended San Francisco. Aaron wasn't too sure if Wendy would be happy living in a place like that. He wanted a nice, quiet place where they could mourn in peace. After talking to a few more friends, he decided the perfect place: Everwood, Colorado.  
  
His old friend, Nina Feeney, recommended the place. She currently lives there with her traveling husband. Nina says the place is wonderful and beautiful. It's small and quaint. The people are generally pleasant to be around with and it's different from the wilds of a city.  
  
Aaron discussed this with Wendy several times. He told her about the place, the people and the surroundings. She thought it would be a wonderful place, even though she would miss her close friends. Aaron would agree during these sessions and they would comfort each other through the night, reminiscing everything that happened. They would miss their friends, but to them, it was better to leave their mental anguish behind.  
  
"An-ge," Wendy whispered.  
  
Aaron looked at his little sister, who was clutching his arm tightly, "Yes, Jie^3?"  
  
"Do you think," she paused, "we'll be alright by ourselves? At Everwood?"  
  
He rustled her hair, "Silly rabbit. Of course we'll be fine! There's nothing to worry about. Go back to your nap. We'll be at Everwood in two hours. Sleep, it'll be alright."  
  
She murmured a "thanks" and drifted back to sleep. Little did she know, things in her life were going to change drastically...  
  
  
^1This is a formal way of a younger sibling to call its older brother (Chinese name included) in Mandarin.  
^2This is a formal way of a younger sibling to call her older sister (Chinese name included) in Mandarin.  
^3Wendy's Chinese name. 


	2. Home Sweet Home

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Bertani.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 2  
They moved their suitcases into their new house. They started unpacking in silence. They didn't know what to say. All they kept thinking about is whether moving away from Philadelphia was a good idea. They began to disagree from the idea. They missed their parents and Maria. However, staying in Philadelphia wouldn't bring back their family, only memories.  
  
And so, after unpacking and rearranging for two hours in thought, the two realized they finished unpacking already. They didn't have much stuff. Most of their belongings had been burned in the fire except for a few items that they savaged from the living room, which happened to be pictures of the family.  
  
After they conversed a little about randomness, they decided to go out and buy some more clothes. After the incident, Aaron and Wendy lived in a hotel for about a week. Family and friends sent money to help them out since Aaron was still attending University of Pennsylvania for medicine. Aaron couldn't accept all the money and tried to give it back, but they refused to take the money, saying Aaron needed it more than they did. So, Aaron and Wendy were forced to accept it and thanked them graciously for it.  
  
Not only did they receive money from family and friends, but also they received two phone calls a few days after the incident. The first one was about their parents' life insurance. The second one was about their sister's, Maria, life insurance.  
  
Maria was only nineteen but she joined the army instead of attending college. Her SAT scores weren't too high and their parents' wouldn't be able to get her completely through college without Maria paying for it. In the army, she went through basic training and passed her physical examinations and testing. Because she was officially a soldier, she received life insurance.  
  
So Aaron and Wendy had enough money to pay for the hotel, purchase new attire and necessities, pay for their plane tickets, the shipment of Aaron's beloved silver Plymouth Neon and their new home in Everwood. They still had enough money for gas, bills, food and more clothes.  
  
In order to earn more money as time goes by, Aaron planned to work at his new college, University of Denver, as an assistant and to hold a job nearby. Wendy, who wanted to help out, didn't want Aaron working too hard. She knew he needed plenty of time to be studying. In order for Aaron to become a doctor, Wendy knows he must memorize all of the medical terms, every single prescription medicine available and more. Of course, he wouldn't have to memorize it yet but it was the principal.  
  
And so, after Aaron and Wendy finished their shopping, they headed over to the local high school to finish the enrollment of Wendy. After wasting a half an hour filling out forms and whatnot, they were released and told that Wendy starts the next day.  
  
A whole new life was what Wendy was kind of hoping for. Nobody here knows the tragic events that took place in Philadelphia. It was for the best. Hopefully, no one will ask either. Every time she recalled what had happened, she had an urge to cry. At first she would proceed to cry but after a few days, she learned to compress her tears. Yes, it was definitely for the best. 


	3. The Boy Next Door

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 3  
"Hey An-ge," Wendy began, "Why don't we visit that friend of yours? The one who convinced you to move us here? What was her name? Mana? Mina? Nina? Oh yeah! It was Nina. Why don't we visit her?" She smiled.  
  
He gave her an annoyed look and continued driving.  
  
"Hey An-ge! Come on," she pleaded, "I wanna meet the person who got us to move to this place. It's so different from Philly."  
  
Aaron sighed and said with exasperation, "Just stop speaking so much. It's different from what I'm used to."  
  
She stuck out her tongue, making sure he saw her, "Yay! So that means we're going, right?"  
  
He nodded and sighed once again, expecting her next reaction.  
  
As if on cue, "Oh yes! What's she like?"  
  
"You'll see," he spoke mischievously. "Gimme the map that's over there."  
  
She pouted and took the map for herself. After staring at it for about a minute, she told him to turn right. Knowing that he could trust his little sister's directions, he turned. She continued giving out a few more directions until she told him to slow down.  
  
"Let's see," she mumbled, glancing alternatively from the address on the map and the house numbers. "Ah ha!" she screamed in victory, "It's that one."  
  
Aaron parked the car and they proceeded to get out. Wendy fidgeted with her seatbelt. As a joke, Aaron quickly got out of the car and locked it. Wendy knew what he did and stared at him in shock and gave him the evil eye. There was no way to get out of the car without triggering the car alarm.  
  
Aaron laughed at her and started up the house. He rang the doorbell and then unlocked the car. Wendy just got out of the car and watch Aaron's action. He looked at her curiously.  
  
The door to the house opened and there stood a boy around Wendy's age. Aaron gave a confused look to the boy.  
  
Wendy laughed instead, "Ha ha ha An-ge! You got the wrong house! I told you it was THAT one," she pointed at the house next to him and continued laughing. "Sorry about my stupid brother ha ha. He doesn't know where he's going. Next time I'll be sure to keep a leash on him."  
  
The teen held the tendency to laugh, "It's okay. You guys are visitors?"  
  
Aaron grunted and said "no," in a quiet voice and headed towards Nina's house.  
  
"We moved here just today. How's the town in your opinion?" Wendy asked.  
  
"Well," he began, "I moved here about three months ago. So far, the town's pretty okay. There are some people that wouldn't classify to be high of standards though. But-"  
  
He was cut off by the sudden scream from Nina, "Ah! I can't believe you're actually here! I thought you were just joking when you said that you were actually going to MOVE here."  
  
Wendy looked back at the teen, "Ha ha, I guess that's my cue to leave. I'll be seeing you around then," she waved and followed Aaron, giving greetings to Nina. 


	4. Life

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 4  
Wendy felt pretty content when she heard the stammering of the boy next door. She gave her second genuine smile in a week. The first was when she saw the expression on Aaron's face when that boy opened the door. It was quite funny to Wendy about Aaron and the stammering of the boy.  
  
She kept her smile and turned to Nina. "So Nina! How'd you meet this klutz?" she put her elbow on his shoulders, which she could barely reach.  
  
Nina laughed while Aaron pouted for having his pride crushed a second time in a row. She hid her laugh and said, "If it wasn't for this klutz, my husband and I would probably still be lost in Philadelphia, looking for the company my husband had to go to. Of course, the klutz was really a klutz! He kept leading us to different directions and we kept bumping into him! So we finally treated him out to dinner and that's when we got to know each other. After dinner, he finally TOOK us to the company building. He gives bad directions," she smiled.  
  
"Ooh..." Wendy nodded in understanding, "So *ahem* Aaron here was your chaperone."  
  
"Yes, yes, that's right Wendy. I was their chaperone," he coughed. "So Nina, How's Samuel and Sarah?" he continued, trying to change the subject.  
  
The three wound up talking for hours about random nonsense. Smiles and laughter erupted and the house emitted the feeling of joy. During those hours, Samuel suddenly woke up from his nap and joined in the conversation of fun. After a while Samuel wanted to go out to play with his garden so Wendy volunteered to watch him. Nina thanked her and walked towards the window where the two were visible.  
  
"She's really strong, huh Aaron?" Nina said in a serious tone.  
  
"Yeah she is," he fell into his seat. "It's only been a week since then. At first she was so quiet and she cried so much. Now she's acting as if she's truly happy. But it's all just an act. I've known her since I was eight when she was born. She's still just my little itty-bitty sister but with a strong heart," he started tearing up. "Look at this. I'm twenty-three and I'm still crying. And look at her. She's only fifteen and she's not."  
  
"It's okay Aaron," Nina said as she hugged him from behind. "It's hard to believe she's only fifteen and acts so much older, yet so much younger at the same time. I know you think you're totally responsible for her, but let her be. If her problem grows, I'm sure she'll come straight to you. You're the only one she has now. You have to match up to her strength and exceed it. It's so then you could be strong for her and comfort her. Remember, okay?" She walked in front of him and lifted his sobbing face; "You have to be strong! For her!" she let go.  
  
He continued to sob for a little longer. After that he wiped his tears away and stood up with his fist balled. "You're right Nina," he spoke determinedly, "You're absolutely right. Thank you Nina. Thank you for being such a great 'big sister.' I love you WOman."  
  
And they hugged.  
  
They laughed at the scene before them. An Asian, six foot tall man with blotchy eyes hugging a five-seven Caucasian woman, who obviously seem older than the man. Nina helped clean Aaron's face so it didn't look as if he were crying.  
  
Aaron and Wendy left soon after since it was late. The two were hungry and knew they didn't have food at home. They asked Nina for a good place to eat and if she would join them. She recommended a Chinese-Italian restaurant and gave Aaron directions. She flat out refused to join them though. Her excuse was that she was exhausted and need to put Samuel to bed.  
  
So the two walked into the Chinese-Italian restaurant. They looked at each other when they heard who they thought was the owner, speak. He was a Chinese man with a nice, crisp, suit on. He spoke with a Chinese accent. But the part that surprised Aaron and Wendy the most was that he mixed Italian in with the words he said.  
  
'This is going to be an interesting new start,' they both thought as they continued. 


	5. Duties

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 5  
An Asian waitress seated the two. The waitress had an idea that Aaron and Wendy was Chinese. So the waitress asked them what language they spoke. They both responded simultaneously that they spoke Mandarin and as if lightning stuck, the waitress bombarded the two with questions in rapid Mandarin. Wendy was unable to fully understand her while Aaron was fluent. So Aaron replied to these questions.  
  
After a while, the waitress finally asked them what they wanted. Aaron ordered pizza and a liter of coke. Wendy on the other hand, ordered a side of dim sum and two bowls of egg drop soup for later. The waitress walked away after gathering their orders. They conversed a little after she left. Looking at the corner of their eye, they could see her talking to the owner, probably about the questions asked. The owner came over and introduced himself as Gino Chang. The three of them talked for a while and then Gino excused himself, probably going to greet a regular.  
  
They were served their food and Wendy excused herself so she could wash her hands. Aaron asked for two pairs of chopsticks and received them a few minutes later. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wendy talking to Gino Chang. After Aaron saw the smile and nodding of Gino, he could see his little sister smiling and shaking his hand ferociously. After talking a little bit longer, she walked back with a smile on her face and sat down.  
  
"Let's eat An-ge! I'm starving. Last time we had a real meal was on the airplane," she smiled, picked up her chopsticks and took a dim sum onto her plate.  
  
Aaron grabbed a dim sum and put soy sauce onto it. "What were you talking to Gino about?" he asked curiously.  
  
Wendy poured the coke for both of them. After she finished filling them up, she put the bottle down and replied, "I asked for a job! And I got it!" she said excitedly.  
  
Wendy carried a huge smile as opposed to Aaron's disappointed look. "You're not dropping out of school just so I don't have to work as hard, right?"  
  
Wendy laughed, "Of course not! I'm working after school and on weekends. And could you buy the food for us until I start working? I would be the one cooking, right?" she gave a skeptical look.  
  
Aaron sighed in relief, now knowing that Wendy was not dropping out. He spoke, "Yes, yes, of course you're cooking! Just give me a list of stuff you need by tomorrow morning and I'll buy it for you in Denver. I suspect I'm driving you to school tomorrow?"  
"Yeah sure! You expect me to know this place already? Give me a few days and I'll start walking," she smiled and chomped onto a piece of her pizza.  
  
"Okay then," he nodded and took a sip from his drink, "But I have to drive you early. It'll take me a while to get to Denver and I have morning classes."  
  
"Oh no!" she hit her head, "Morning classes as in eight o'clock? Does that mean I'll have to be in school at five o'clock?" she exasperated.  
  
"No," Aaron chuckled, "I made sure I didn't have classes so early. My earliest class is at ten thirty. So I'm just gonna drop you off at school at seven, okay?"  
  
She gaped at him in shock, "I'm still gonna be there for an hour! Oh boy."  
  
"Close your mouth. It looks nasty in there," she gave him a raspberry and he continued to smile, "Just go to the library and read. Or you know what? Just write since I know you love doing that."  
  
She thought about her previous composition books filled with words. The fire that consumed their family also consumed Wendy's precious books filled with her writing. She thought about the hours she used to spend writing it all down and then she shook her head.  
  
"Yeah, you're right An-ge! I've got to rewrite those five books! An hour each morning should get me through a few pages. Thanks An-ge!" and she said enthusiastically and began to eat faster than usual.  
  
Aaron's face fell when he realized what he just said. Figuring that it was best to not talk anymore, the conversation ended. They finished their dim sum and had a few more slices of their pizza. After they were full, they asked for the pizza to be packed and their egg drop soup came. They finished that, took their pizza and left the restaurant, not before giving proper greetings to their waitress and Gino Chang. Aaron drove on to their almost bare home. All the major appliances and furniture were left behind by the previous owner. Aaron and Wendy were thankful to it all. Wendy dropped the bag of leftovers on the counter and went to her room to sleep. Aaron sighed and went to sleep as well. It was the end of a long day. 


	6. Getting Adjusted

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 6  
Wendy woke up the next morning to the annoying sound of a special alarm clock given to her as a gift from a good friend. She clicked the little button on the back of the clock as soon as she heard its annoying speech in the foreign language. After she clicked it, it continued to talk a little more and she got up and left the room.  
  
She walked over to Aaron's room and shook him awake. "Get up Aaron! It's six o'clock! You told me to wake you up at six!" she yelled.  
  
He mumbled in his sleep, "Wake me up in thirty minutes."  
  
Wendy grumbled and went back to her room to see the alarm clock had stopped talking already. She opened the drawer that was in her room and began picking clothes for the day. She yawned as she walked to her bathroom and began her routine.  
  
Thirty minutes later Wendy was out of the bathroom dirty clothes in hand and wearing fresh clothes. She ran downstairs to throw the clothes into a hamper next to the washing machine. After she did that, she ran upstairs and jumped onto Aaron's bed.  
  
"Wake up An-ge!" she screamed cheerfully, "It's six thirty!"  
  
He sprang up, "I thought I told you to wake me up at six!"  
  
She laughed and pointed at him, "I did! But then you told me to wake you up in thirty minutes."  
  
He cursed to himself, took a ten-minute shower and did everything he needed to do in the bathroom. Afterwards, he walked downstairs to the fresh aroma of...pizza?  
  
"Leftovers An-ge. No food, remember?" Wendy looked at him skeptically.  
  
"Right..." he said as if he remembered, "What time is it now?"  
  
She looked at her watch, "Six fifty. Let's go then! Oh and I didn't get the time to write the list. So umm..." she thought for a second, "Just buy a bag of rice, eggs, salt, a chicken, some noodles, ginger," she looked around the kitchen, "And some pans or pots or a wok."  
  
"Hold on! Wait a second! You think I can remember all this?" Aaron said with a displeased face.  
  
"Fine," she exasperated, "Just get some ramen, chopsticks and a pot. I'll make a list during my hour of nothing."  
  
Aaron grabbed his keys to his car and walked out of the door, "Okay that's easy to remember. Come on, let's go!"  
  
Wendy grabbed her bag and ran towards the door. She locked it from the inside and ran outside. She slammed the door as she heard the beeping of Aaron's car. Wendy ran towards the car, opened the passenger seat and step inside, putting the seat belt on. Aaron started the car and drove off from the curb. It took about five minutes for Aaron to get to the school. Wendy and Aaron said their salutations and Wendy left the car.  
  
There was barely anybody around. Wendy sighed dejectedly and walked towards the school. She went to the office. She received her locker and her roster. She looked at her classes. This school was very different from her old school in Philadelphia. Her old school was all about academics and gave you work that pushed you to your limits. Her classes were nothing compared to her old school. All she had was English 2, Geometry*, Algebra 2* as an elective, Chemistry, Spanish 3 and Dance. Usually, a sophomore would take Biology for a science course, but Wendy already took the class in her freshman year and was taking Chemistry before she wound up in Everwood. Dance was just a course she had to take since there wasn't any room for her in any other classes, but it didn't matter to Wendy since she like dancing. There wasn't really one special class just for dancing in her old school.  
  
She had lunch fourth period, a little strange for her. Central High School, her school in Philadelphia, was overcrowded with smart students. Lunch periods ranged from first period to seventh period. A fourth period lunch seemed a little weird for Wendy since in freshman year, she had lunch sixth period, and in sophomore year she had it seventh period. So obviously, it was quite different.  
  
She continued to review her schedule and walked around the school to get a feel of it. Looking at the classroom numbers, she could see a pattern in which the school was arranged. She figured out where each of her classes were and then searched for her locker. After a few minutes she opened her new locker. It was small compared to the lockers she shared in her old school but it would do. She closed the locker, not having any books to put in yet. She sealed it with a lock she dug from her school bag.  
  
Wendy walked over to the library and sat down at an empty table. She took out her new composition book and a pencil. As if she suddenly remembered something, she snapped her fingers and dug in her book bag for a piece of paper. Finding one, she began to make a list of things that Aaron had to buy. It took her a few minutes to think of everything that they might need for a while.  
  
After she finished her chore, she folded up the piece of paper and placed it safely in her book bag. She opened the composition book and began to write:  
  
"Like in a dream  
One is perceived  
Like in a dream  
One has believed  
  
Like in a dream  
All is not real  
Like in a dream  
All is taken  
  
Like in a dream  
Like in a dream." 


	7. Making Friends

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 7  
Wendy closed her book once the bell rung, signaling the start of classes. She walked into her first class: Spanish. She saw her teacher and talked to her for a while. Her teacher, señora Wallace, gave Wendy her textbooks and told her all she needed in her classes. Class started and Wendy was seated in the back next to a tall Caucasian boy.  
  
The boy gave greetings to Wendy and smiled. Wendy smiled back and gave the same greeting, including her name, and asking for his. His name was Collin and Wendy kept that in mind. Class started and Wendy paid attention, writing notes every once and a while if she didn't know a word. During the class period, señora Wallace split the class in groups of two to get understand a dialogue and help each other out. Wendy and Collin were partners.  
  
Wendy was quite familiar with some of these terms but Collin was clueless. She began to help him translate and they talked to each other in a mix of Spanish and English. They got to know each other pretty well. The bell rung and the class rushed out.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll see ya tomorrow!" Wendy smiled, waving.  
  
"Wait a sec!" Collin screamed, "I see you at lunch! I want you to meet the group that I chill with! You'll fit right in with us, okay?"  
  
Wendy smiled, "Of course! I'll see you then! Bye," she waved as she rushed her to next class: Dance.  
  
Wendy was looking forward to dance. There were a few different courses of dance available: General, Pop, Hip-hop, Ballet and more. Wendy signed up for Hip-hop since there was an opening. Hopefully Wendy would be able to fit right in, being from the city and all.  
  
She walked into the dance studio and saw that there were mostly males inside. In fact, it was all males with the exception of Wendy herself.  
  
'It doesn't matter,' she thought, 'It's just all good fun!'  
She looked around for the teacher. She couldn't find the teacher so she just looked towards the crowd that gathered. As she peered, she could see a little dance competition. She smiled at the sight. She walked into the circle and began to show off a few moves. Everyone around her looked stunned.  
  
"Check out the Asian chick with the orange hair." "Look at the moves." "Hey Bright! I think you lost."  
  
Wendy stopped and smiled at the person named Bright. She looked at him, egging him on. The two began their competition. After ten minutes of battling, the two shook hands and declared that there wasn't a winner. Wendy smiled at him.  
  
"Nice," Bright complimented, "Where'd you learned to do all that?"  
  
"I came from a city where one of the most funnest thing to do was to freak dance. Whatcha expect?" she winked and grinned again.  
  
He gave a look of surprise, "You don't look like the type to be freak dancing," he looked at her hair, "And what's with city folk and dyeing their hair? I'm Bright. And you are...?"  
  
She grinned once again, obviously not afraid to reveal her beautiful white teeth, "I'm not freaky," she winked. "Not everybody from the city dyes their hair though."  
  
"Some city folks moved in a few months ago. One kid had his hair dye. And it's obvious you have yours dyed too. Of course, yours looks much better than his," Bright laughed, nudging a few of his friends.  
  
She looked at them curiously and then she shook her head, "Oh yeah! My name is Wendy! Pleased to meet you all," she said, looking at her gawking admirers.  
  
The other guys were at a lost for words and Wendy laughed, "Where's the teach-"  
  
The door opened, "Sorry I'm so late! I'm Ms. Baxsworth, your substitute teacher! Nice to meet you all!"  
  
The guys groaned and walked away from the door.  
  
After endless scolding of the students' incapability to dance, class ended and everybody rushed out of the studio. Ms. Baxsworth was the biggest perfectionist and talkative person the world had ever known of. Wendy had run out the door with her fellow classmates. She got to kind of know them by little whispers passed during the grueling session of Ms. Baxsworth, including Bright. She kind of got along with him but she thought he joked around a little too much by giving Ms. Baxsworth smart remarks.  
  
She ran away from her newfound friends and went to English, her next class. She was the first student who walked in; the others were probably chatting in the hallway. She walked up to her teacher, Mr. Donnell, and talked to him for a while. She received a list of supplies she needed, plus books that were needed in class. He also gave her a few notes so she could catch up with the rest of the class.  
  
"The notes," he had said, "are not sufficient enough to get you through this class. I suggest you ask a diligent student to borrow some notes. There's an empty seat over there in the back of the class."  
  
She sat at her assigned seat and waited endlessly for class to begin. She needed the notes. She looked at the door. Seeing that no one would come yet, she took out her composition book and began to write. The bell rung again, signaling every student to get to class. The classroom was soon filled. 


	8. He Appears Again

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 8  
She watched as everybody who entered sat at his or her respective seats. She looked at her composition book for a second and put it away into her book bag. Once she looked up, she saw a pair of green eyes staring at her in amusement.  
  
She recognized the face immediately and brightened up, "Hey! It's you! The boy that lives next door to Nina!"  
  
He gave a smirk, "Ephram. We never exchanged names."  
  
"Wendy," she held out her hand, "I see your obsession with Ryoga."  
  
He gave a confused look, "Who's Ryoga?"  
  
She pointed at his shirt where a picture of a small black pig with a yellow-orange mixed with black bandana on laid, "Ryoga. I suspect you thought his name was Ri-yo-ga. In Japanese, it's really pronounce Ryo-ga."  
  
He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sudden booming of Mr. Donnell, "Class! Settle down! Pop-quiz on chapters seven through nine! Come on now! Take out a piece of paper and get ready! Wendy, you don't have to take it since you're new here."  
  
Ephram gave an agitated sigh and mouthed to Wendy, 'I'll have to talk to you later.'  
Wendy beamed and took out her composition book, having a sudden inspiration for a poem. Mr. Donnell boomed out questions during the pop-quiz and Wendy no longer felt the need to write. She began to read the book that they were assigned: Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Wendy was a little familiar to this book, having had to read in freshmen year, but she never did complete the book. She had the unluckiness to be transferred out of the class before she was able to finish it. She skimmed through the pages, recognizing the text, up to chapter six of the book. By then, the quiz had already been over and Wendy looked up, only to be faced by Ephram once again.  
  
She gave him a grin and he was a little surprised. "Where did you come from anyway? Not a lot of people know about Ranma ½," he gave her a weird look.  
  
She pulled her white, long sleeved sweater closer to her, getting chills, grinned once again and said, "I'm from Philly, but then again, not a lot of people know about Ranma. My sister had a BIG obsession with anime and my brother and I used to watch it with her…" She thought about what she said for a moment. After a few seconds, she gave another smile, only this one was forced.  
  
Ephram noticed her reaction and gave another weird look. He carefully chose his words, "Well, it's good that there's actually SOMEONE who knows who this pig is. Otherwise in a few days I would die knowing that I couldn't say anything about things I own." He gave a small smile.  
  
"Hey you lasted a few months! Who said you couldn't last a few more days?" she repeated the gesture.  
  
Wendy had a good feeling about Ephram. There was something about Ephram that she liked. He was sort of an outsider and Wendy liked that type. She was used to it at Central. The students there were smart, but most of them were pretty weird. There is always a down to an up; In this case, the students were smart, but very weird.  
  
During the rest of the class period, Wendy and Ephram were talking about random things. Wendy had found her new set of notes, which she thanked Ephram endlessly. She also found out that he liked lots of other animes including Weiß Kreuz, Ayashi no Ceres, Inuyasha, Tales of Eternia and plenty more, some of which Wendy had only heard of. But of course, Ranma ½ was Ephram's favorite anime of all. Ephram had his way of surprise too. Wendy knew and saw of far too many animes that Ephram had never heard of. He was interested in all of them. It was too bad that all of the animes and mangas that Wendy and her family had once owned were all burned.  
  
With the exception of one.  
  
Wendy had just remembered that she loaned an anime to her friend in Philadelphia. She never did receive it back, but it was saved. She also remembered that she loaned a few others to her friend that was on CD. Her friend had burned them on other CDs and Wendy smacked her forehead. Ephram gave her a questionable look but she ignored him. She told him she gave her animes to her friend when he asked, which wasn't necessarily a lie. She also told him that she'd let him watch it once she gets it over here. Wendy could see the internal struggle that Ephram was facing, but she put it off, saying that she wanted to watch the animes too. She gave him a reassuring smile.  
  
She held her chin in her hand and gave him a big grin. She felt a nasty little prick on her right side and changed the angle of her arm. There a girl stared at her. The girl had long, blonde hair and the look she had on did not suit her. It was obvious to Wendy that this girl seemed not to like her. For what reason Wendy was determined to figure out. In the meantime, Wendy decided to give the girl a friendly smile before talking to her, just to show that Wendy was not looking for a fight.  
  
The bell rung not long after. Time seemed to go by fast when you have someone to talk to. Wendy walked out of the classroom door with Ephram, still chatting about anime and other subjects that seemed to have come out. They walked on until Wendy finally realized that she wanted to talk to that girl for a while. Wendy excused herself and ran out, leaving Ephram in shock once again. She looked around for the girl. Seeing that Wendy couldn't find her, she walked dejectedly to her locker and stuffed her Spanish and English books inside.  
  
She momentarily forgot about the meeting with Collin until she looked at her Spanish book. Collin was a nice guy. He was a little dense about the subject of Spanish, but that was to be expected. She didn't know how her next classes were going to be like, so there was no point in the locker. She slammed the locker shut and locked the lock in place. She took long strides to the lunchroom and waved at a few classmates from dance class that she recognized.  
  
She got to the lunchroom and smelled the food. She recognized the smell and decided to go against eating it. Instead she walked over to a soda machine and bought a drink with the little spare money she had. She walked around the lunchroom looking for Collin and his friends. She gave up after a while and spotted a table where Ephram was seated with this other boy. She was walking towards them until she heard her name being called. 


	9. Thoughts

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 9  
"Hey Wendy! Over here!" a male voice screamed.  
  
She turned her head towards the voice and spotted Collin. She gave a smirk and walked towards him instead. Her smirk transformed into surprised when she saw whom he was with. He sat across from Bright and a few of their fellow dance classmates. But the thing that surprised Wendy the most, was whom Collin had his arm around. It was the girl that gave Wendy the nasty glare.  
  
Wendy was surprised to have seen the girl. It was obvious that she was Collin's girlfriend and that she probably didn't usually give looks like that to people. At first the girl gave Wendy a cold look. However a few seconds later, the girl's expression changed to one of forced happiness.  
  
"Wendy!" Bright yelled and got up from his seat. He placed his arm around her as if they were close buddies.  
  
"You know her, Bright?" Collin asked.  
  
"Yeah of course I know her," he grinned at Wendy, "We have the same dance class, right guys?" Wendy's other classmates nodded.  
  
"Well, what a coincidence!" Collin smiled. "She's in my Spanish class."  
  
The girl was turned to Wendy in shock. She spoke her first words, "But aren't you still a sophomore? What are you doing in a Spanish 3 class?"  
  
"Oh... Yeah, I'm a sophomore but I took Spanish 1 in eighth grade and Spanish 2 in ninth," she gritted, "By the way, what's your name?"  
  
"I'm... Amy," she gave Wendy a questionable look, "We're in the same English class..."  
  
"Yeah, I know..." Wendy said, passing back the look.  
  
"What's got you two?" Bright asked with a smirk.  
  
"Leave your big nose out of it, Bright. It's none of your business," standing up, she gave him a cold look as a warning sign.  
  
Wendy made little signs toward Collin, asking him what was with the two. He scooted towards the upright Wendy on the bench and whispered that they were siblings. He smiled at the look of shock on Wendy's face. Wendy recovered rather quickly and mumbled to herself something that sounded a lot like, "I should've known." Collin looked at Wendy in suspicion but then shook his head and turned to the quarrel of siblings.  
  
Seeing that Wendy caused this fight, she excused herself, saying she needed to see her teachers. Of course it was a lie but it was the only way she could escape them. She quickly did the deed and said bye to everybody.  
  
She started to walk out of the cafeteria. She saw Ephram still arguing with that other boy. Suddenly she saw that boy pointing at her. Wendy wanted to go over to see what's up with those two. However, she remembered her lie. She made an unreliable mental note to ask Ephram about it later.  
  
In the meantime, Wendy walked out of the lunchroom and headed towards the library. She sat at an empty and thought about her friends and family back in Philadelphia. She began to feel nostalgic. When she usually felt sadden or depressed, she is more inspired to write. The downside, however, is that her work is quite sadistic.  
  
She began to write various love poems that usually resulted with death, heartache or some miscellaneous disaster. After a while of some serious poetry, Wendy grew sick of writing and slammed her book shut. Instead, she thought about everything in Everwood. Things were okay so far except the fact that she probably made an enemy already: Amy. She wondered why Amy disliked her.  
  
'Jealousy?' she thought and then immediately shook her head. 'She already has Collin. Why would she be jealous of me becoming close with Ephram?'  
  
Her thoughts shifted to Ephram. He was a pretty cool guy. He's a little temperamental but an overall good guy. It's also not so bad that he's pretty good looking. The bell rang and disturbed her thoughts. She quickly packed up her things and left the library, heading towards her next class. 


	10. Getting to the End

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 10  
She managed to make it to her next class. Of course, it was no trouble considering the fact that it was quite easy for one to navigate oneself through the small corridors and buildings. The only thing that stalled Wendy was the mass of students crowding the hallway, intentionally trying to be late. Wendy walked to her Chemistry class and talked to her teacher like what she had been usually doing. She received her books and assigned seat and rested against it until the second bell rang.  
  
And so, Chemistry went by like a flash. All she managed to do was to write a load of more poems. Class went by slowly but it didn't matter to Wendy. It gave her more time to write. So when class ended, Wendy felt quite melancholy. She walked to her locker and stuffed her new books inside. Afterwards she went to her Geometry class and retrieved a new set of books. She sat at her seat and began reviewing the various postulates and theorems.  
  
Geometry was, surprisingly, the only subject that Wendy didn't do too well in. Her former teacher never really explained anything. So obviously, it wasn't too easy to get by. However, class went by easy enough. Some of the people that were in her English class were also in this class. Ephram wasn't there but Amy sure was. Wendy felt sharp pricks going through the back of her neck throughout the whole class period. It was difficult to concentrate but Wendy managed to get through it.  
  
Her last class was Algebra 2. She knew she was going to see a few people she knew. Some from her Spanish class and some from her Dance class. She knew the people in her Spanish class were juniors and some people from her Dance class were juniors too. So it would be good to know that she would see people she recognized. She knew regular sophomores aren't really allowed to be in Algebra 2 so she wouldn't see Amy. It took a long time to convince the roster office that Wendy should be in, but Aaron managed to do so.  
  
She received her books and waited to see who would come. The bell rang once again and juniors flooded the classroom. She saw a few people she recognized from Dance and waved at them. She also saw some people from her Spanish class but since she didn't really know them, she didn't wave. The teacher soon after walked from his chair and closed the door. He began his lesson but was soon interrupted by the opening of the door.  
  
The ruffled Collin stood at the door. He gave a sheepish look and apologized for being late. The teacher, Mr. Bennett, yelled at him a little and gave him after school detention. Collin gave a cold look at him and sat at his seat. He saw Wendy and gave a little smile.  
  
The lesson began again and Mr. Bennett gave out classwork for everyone to do. Wendy had a little trouble with the new material, but after reading over the lesson in the textbook, she managed to work through it all. Wendy could tell other students in the class were having serious trouble with the classwork. She figured that Mr. Bennett usually didn't help them while they were doing the work, but afterwards when he does an oral checkup.  
  
Wendy was right. He reviewed everything and Wendy found that she was the best one who understood it all by herself. She still had to give step-by-step directions, but Wendy was okay with that since it did help the others. Before she knew it, the bell rung and Mr. Bennett gave out a homework assignment before everyone ran out. Wendy copied it down in her Central High agenda planner. It seemed kind of weird using it, considering she was in a different school, but it was a habit she developed.  
  
She walked out of the classroom, chatting with Collin for a little bit until she walked a different direction. She said 'bye' and left to her locker. She opened her agenda planner and read it for a little bit. She took a few books out of her locker and then shut it. There, she faced a familiar boy behind her locker. It was the guy that pointed at her when he and Ephram were talking.  
  
"You're new here, aren't you?" he said rather quickly.  
  
She blinked. "Yes I am," and turned and walked in a different direction.  
  
He followed her. "I see you made an enemy with the most popular girl in school."  
  
Wendy stopped and looked at him, "No I didn't. I just got here. I barely know anybody, and they barely know me."  
  
"That's what YOU think. But I know this school and its people. We know everything," he said mysteriously. "Name's Wendell. At your service," he saluted.  
  
Wendy looked at him and then walked towards the entrance to the school. Wendell rushed to catch up with her. "I can be quite helpful sometimes. I'm like a..." he thought for a second, "A cartel, you could say."  
  
She continued to walk and spoke, "Why would I need a cartel? And plus, why would you call yourself a cartel? Isn't it 'Every man for himself'?"  
  
He shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see it, "I have my reasons. I love helping people. No strings attached. You might need help every now and then. Who knows?"  
  
She turned around, "Maybe so, but not now. Umm..." she thought, "I'll give you a call if I do. I gotta run now. Bye!" and she dashed away.  
  
Wendy looked back, seeing if Wendell was still following her. She didn't see him and figured he was satisfied with her answer. Usually she would be friendly towards people but Wendell popped up behind her locker and startled her. Plus the way he talked annoyed Wendy a little. She sighed and shrugged it off. She walked home and dropped everything down. She looked at the time and found she had fifteen minutes until she had to go to work. She decided she might as well start walking. She grabbed her coat and the Lord of the Flies book and started towards Chino's Chinese-Italian Restaurant. 


	11. Rest

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 11  
Once Aaron arrived home, he dropped his things on the kitchen counter and plopped himself on the sofa. He yawned and felt comfortable against the soft cushions of the sofa. He looked at the clock that was beside the couch on a small desk table. The clock read as quarter of eight. Aaron thought about how time went by so quickly.  
  
He arrived at University of Denver at around ten fifteen so he walked around campus for fifteen minutes, trying to get adjusted. He went to class and then class ended at twelve o'clock, due to the professor's very detail lesson on diseases of the lungs. After class, Aaron talked to the professor about everything that he needed and whatnot. Luckily, he didn't have to repurchase books, at least for this class, because he already had it.  
  
After class Aaron had a quick lunch. He then went to the dean to try and work on campus. The dean said that Aaron would be notified shortly if there were any professors that needed assistance and then shooed Aaron out. It was about one o'clock then and Aaron rushed to his next class: Microbiology.  
  
Today was his lucky day in Microbiology. The class afterwards was Lab and with the same professor. He stayed with the same professor for a grueling four hours. Afterwards he left campus and headed home. He figured that he would bother the dean again the next day. Before he left Denver, he picked up a few items from a local grocery store and then headed home.  
  
It had been a long ride home and Aaron's alertness was wearing thin. He continued to lie on the couch for about ten minutes when he realized something: Wendy wasn't home. He began to freak out but then calmed down after seeing a pizza box in the trashcan. He remembered that she was going to start working at Chino's Restaurant today. Feeling it was about time that he should pick her up, he picked up the neglected car keys on the counter and headed out the door.  
  
The trip back and forth to Denver drained most of the gas held in Aaron's car. So Aaron stopped by the only gas station in Everwood: Getty's. He paid the owner of the station and then pumped the gasoline into his car. He quickly continued his driving towards the fancy restaurant and parked outside. He waltzed in, and he gave greetings to Geno and the waitress who he saw earlier. He now referred to her as "tai tai," meaning lady.  
  
Aaron was still concerned about Wendy. He wasn't sure if she could handle working and schoolwork at the same time. He talked to Geno about it and he reassured Aaron that Wendy wasn't going to be too stressed with work. He also informed Aaron that Wendy was doing a pretty good job as a waitress anyway. Aaron still wasn't too convinced with the idea, but he didn't have time to argue. Wendy walked out of the double doors with her uniform in hand. She handed it to Geno and thanked him again. After a few more words were exchanged, Aaron and Wendy headed out the front doors.  
  
The two of them talked a little on the way home. Every now and then, silence would come between them. At those times, Aaron looked at the passenger seat and saw the little girl he saw growing up. A sad aura engulfed the seat and Aaron could see the sadness Wendy held even as she read her book. Aaron turned his head and looked to his front. He made little jokes about his day, trying to wash away the feeling of depression.  
  
Once the two arrived home, Wendy made them a little something to eat with the materials that Aaron bought earlier that day. She then retrieved her bag and handed Aaron the list of things they would need. Aaron looked over the list and reminded himself to get these things. In turn, Wendy got up from her seat, washed her dish and utensils, and headed up the stairs with her schoolbag. Aaron sighed at the sound of Wendy's fading footsteps and continued to eat his meal. 


	12. Winter Formal

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 12  
A few weeks had gone by. It was now truly the winter season. However, Everwood was a strange little town. It started snowing about a week before winter started and continued its reign. Aaron and Wendy developed new daily lifestyles already. It was very similar to the second day they had of Everwood. However, Wendy pushed herself to do more work since that was what Aaron was doing. Aaron held a job at his University and doesn't come home until around nine o'clock. Wendy found herself working a little later at Geno's because she wanted to and kept it a secret from Aaron. 'He didn't need to know,' she told herself after walking home from the restaurant. She began walking home alone and reading a random book at the same time.  
  
School was getting more challenging by the moment to Wendy. Wendy learned many new things even if they slowly taught her. She developed a healthy social life with various people in her school. She even became a close buddy of Collin. She found out why Collin was having major difficulty with the subjects of Spanish and Algebra. Collin had been in a coma due to an accident on July fourth. He hadn't waken up until a little over a month ago.  
  
"Hey...Wendy," Collin said during seventh period Algebra.  
  
He also had trouble remembering. The surgery performed by Dr. Andrew Brown for Collin was entirely successful. However, when Collin had finally waken, he was diagnosed with amnesia. He did regain his memory back after some time, but he still had a little trouble remembering certain things.  
  
Collin and Wendy talk about a few things while in the classroom. After about a week later of Wendy's arrival, Collin started coming to Spanish and Algebra class early like Wendy. They laughed and joked about a few things and then Collin suddenly mentions the Winter Formal.  
  
"Oh yeah! Didn't you see the flyers? Come! It'll be fun!" he said, talking enthusiastically about the dance.  
  
"I don't know..." Wendy adversely replied.  
  
Until the second bell rang, Collin continued to annoy Wendy to go. However, Wendy knew she couldn't. Since the dance was formal, the occasion required Wendy to wear a formal dress, one that Wendy didn't have. Wendy couldn't buy one herself since she just bought a computer for all her school needs. She didn't have any money left to buy a beautiful dress. Also, she couldn't ask Aaron for money since she promised herself never to ask him for any. He needed his money to pay for his tuition.  
  
This was all something Collin had no idea about. In fact, nobody in Everwood had any idea about the things that went on in the Phan household except the family itself and Nina. All three of them were very secretive about their reasons for coming to Everwood. It was a question that everybody wanted to know especially Brenda Baxsworth. After a long while though, they all gave up the pursuit of discovering the secret.  
  
After class, Wendy walked out towards her locker, discussing some rules of Algebra to some of her classmates that still couldn't understand. She waved bye to Collin as she saw him shook his head in disapproval. Finally, after the small crowd dispersed, a face could be viewed. It was Ephram. Wendy smiled. She noticed that she started developing some feelings for him since he was the only one she could discuss anime with.  
  
He handed her a heavy bag, "Hey, uh... Thanks for the tapes! Yami no Matsuei is really a weird and bloody anime. I-I like it," he grinned.  
  
"I thought you might have," she smiled and then corrected his Japanese pronunciation once again.  
  
She put away her some of her books and picked up a few from her opened locker. They continue to talk about the plot and what happened during the anime. But then Ephram brought up a little subject that surprised Wendy a little. It was about how Wendy acquired the anime.  
  
"I, uh... I thought you said that your friend didn't have time to send you back the animes she borrowed."  
  
When Wendy said that to Ephram, she was telling a bit of a lie. The truth was that she wasn't able to contact her friend, Jennifer, until she bought the computer. She accidentally misplaced all the phone numbers and addresses given to her before she left Philadelphia. She could easily remember most of her friends' e-mail addresses and screen names. A load of instant messages popped up on the computer screen once Wendy signed onto her usual account on AOL Instant Messenger. It had been so long since she last contacted with her friends.  
  
Some tears sprung onto Wendy's eyes but she managed to make it disappear and then she looked up to Ephram, "I guess she just wanted to surprise me!"  
  
Ephram looked at Wendy suspiciously but didn't push her. He knew it was part of the big secret that was kept from the whole town. He didn't want to push Wendy so he didn't. Even if he tried, there would always be something that stopped him.  
  
"Hey Ephram! Hey Wendy..." a voice said with dripping sarcasm.  
  
It was as if Ephram's brain just floated away. He replied to the cheer with an enthusiasm, "Hey Amy! How's-how's it going?"  
  
Amy smiled and held Collin closer to her. When Ephram noticed whom Amy was holding onto, his face dropped and lost enthusiasm. Wendy noticed this but acted as if nothing was wrong. It was obvious Amy believed that Wendy was after Collin, which was absolutely false. All four of them had a little talk about the Winter Formal. Every time she would say that her and Collin were going together, Ephram would bow his head down and look away. Wendy announced for the twentieth time that she was not going to go and that she needed to get to work. She said her "byes," and left the three of them talking. 


	13. Persistence

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 13  
The next day, Wendy walked to school instead of getting a ride from Aaron. She just had a sudden inspiration to take a walk. After she made sure Aaron was awake, she told him that breakfast was on the table and that she was going to walk to school. After doing so, she just rushed out of the door.  
  
Wendy enjoyed the snow that enveloped her. The town had such a beautiful scenic view and Wendy took the time to enjoy it all. She took her time walking to school too. If she had rushed, she would be earlier than she liked. All of a sudden a beeping noise interrupted Wendy's surveys. She turned her head towards the car and recognized the person in the passenger seat. It was Wendell.  
  
During the past few weeks, Wendy had gotten used to the ways of Wendell, how he pops up and hands over information to one. One could even say that they became pretty good friends. She does talk to him more than he would talk with almost anybody else.  
  
So when she saw Wendell in the car, she didn't run away from his stare. Instead, she waved to him. He motioned for her to get in the car, but Wendy politely declined and enjoyed her walk. She had a feeling he wanted to talk to her about something. Most likely, it would be about the dance. She didn't tell him that she wasn't going yet. But who knows? Maybe he wasn't going to bug her about the dance. To her, it didn't matter anyway.  
  
In a few minutes, she arrived to see a few yellow school buses surrounding the high school as usual. She neared the school and walked towards her locker. She could see a figure playing with the locks and she rushed to see who it was. It was Wendell once again.  
  
"Hey Wendy," he said in his usual sly tone, "Why'd you walk? It's colddd," he shivered.  
  
She smiled at him and started on the lock, "It's a beautiful day!" She opened her locker, "Why? Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"  
  
He had a faint look of shock but hid it immediately, "Oh yeah! I was wondering if you were going to the formal."  
  
She threw some books into the locker and whispered to herself, "How did I guess?" and rolled her eyes.  
  
"What?" he said, bending down to Wendy's level, trying to hear what she just said.  
  
"Ah," she laughed and closed the locker; "it's nothing." She composed herself, "Nope, I'm not going. Why? Are you planning to?"  
  
He gave her a look, "Yeah! Why wouldn't I? You should go too! You could be my date," he winked.  
  
She walked away, knowing that Wendell would trail her to advisory. "Eh... I can't go," she said softly. She then increased her volume and said in a playful voice, "As much as I want to."  
  
He paused and then cut in front of her, blocking her way, "And just why not? Give me a GOOD reason and I'll let you go on."  
  
She grinned. She walked straight into Wendell and he backed up a bit. She thought of this as a basketball game and bypassed him. She went right past Wendell and increased her speed so she could be in advisory before Wendell. They didn't have the same advisory, but Wendell's was right across the hall. He could talk to her for a long time without being late to class.  
  
A few seconds later after she arrived in advisory, Wendell went by and said to Wendy, "We'll talk in English!"  
  
Wendy silently laughed after Wendell left the doorway. She shook her head and focused herself into the books. There was a homework assignment that she had to complete. Unfortunately, having a job was time consuming. Recently, Wendy found herself completing homework in almost all her classes. Wendy internally sighed and knew that there was nothing she could do about it. Advisory ended and Wendy completed her Spanish homework in time. She rushed to class and sat at her usual seat. There was only one more assignment she had to do and that was an English one.  
  
During the subject of new conjugations and new vocabulary, Wendy finally finished her English homework and rested against the chair. Collin hadn't even asked her about the new things they were learning during the time she was doing it. Collin knew what would happen if he had, from experience. He almost had his head bit off when she was trying to concentrate on it; it caused a disturbance in the classroom and the two ended up with detentions. Wendy was, of course, late for work but wasn't in trouble since she was always punctual.  
  
The rest of the class period was based on group work. So naturally Wendy and Collin paired up along with two other friends. They discussed the work and after they finished, they started talking about the Winter Formal. They continued to try and persuade Wendy to go. She refused for the ten-thousandth time and ran out once the bell rung. She hurried to Dance class and noticed a familiar tall, rustled figure blocking the entrance.  
  
"I forgot I see you go into this class," he smirked, leaning against the doorway.  
  
She gave him a look, "Ah! I can't go! I'm sorry Wendell!"  
"Why not? Come on!" he pleaded.  
  
She turned her head and whispered, "I can't tell you."  
  
He thought for a moment. While deep in thought, Wendy saw this as a chance to enter the room. She tried to push him aside and run into the classroom but he was too hard to move. He snapped out of his trance and gave a yelp.  
  
"Hey!" he said automatically, "Oh! I know! Do you not have a dress?"  
  
She stared at him. That was the only thing she could do.  
"Is that it? Really?" he said excitedly.  
  
She didn't say anything but just stared at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.  
  
"Well," he started. Then he rubbed his nails against his chest and blew on it, saying, "Since I am at your service, I could supply you with a dress."  
  
"You're kidding me," she gave him a look. Wendy really did want to go to the formal. But she couldn't just accept a dress.  
  
"Of course! No charge. No strings attached. Well, except that I would like you to be my date," he grinned.  
  
She gaped at him, "I can't, Wendell, I can't."  
  
"Of course you can! Why can't you? Is it because your boss won't let you go? Who is he anyway?" he asked.  
  
She gave him a confused look and moved to the side. Someone was going into the dance room. "Hey Greg," she said as he walked inside. She focused back on Wendell, who also moved aside, "It's not that my boss won't let me. It's that I can't accept the dress."  
  
Wendell thought about for a second, "How about if I just give it to you as a rental? You'll give it back to me, okay?"  
  
The second bell rung, interrupting Wendy's thoughts about her decision. Questions flooded her mind and she wondered what she would do. Wendell tried to rush her answer since he also had class to go to. After what it seemed to be a long while, Wendy finally replied.  
  
"Fine, Wendell. I'll go with you to the formal." 


	14. Memory Lane

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 14  
Wendell jumped in happiness and surprised, "Really? It's about time this charming fellow got this beautiful princess," he winked and ran to class.  
  
Wendy stared at him and then felt a breeze pass once he left. She walked into class, not noticing gaping faces that had surrounded the two. She heard the whispers behind her as she walked in. She didn't care. She was going to the formal!  
  
****  
  
Ephram Brown was having the worst day of his life. He got in trouble with his advisor just because Wendell happened to be doodling on Ephram's desk. Because of that, his attention was derived from the Geometry homework he had to finish. Unfortunately for Ephram, Geometry was first period and not doing the assignment called for a lunch detention.  
  
Then again, when Ephram thought about it, it wasn't necessarily the worst day. The worst day of his life was when his mother died. In his mind, he still considered her accident was actually his fault. If only he told his mother that his father didn't have to go... If only she told him to give up earlier... If only he didn't let her come...  
  
Ephram slouched in his seat at English. The thoughts of that night overwhelmed him. Wendy noticed the change in Ephram's posture and tapped him on the shoulder. Ephram snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Wendy. Wendy gave him a pleasant smile.  
  
"Who's cooler: Tsuzuki or Hisoka?" she whispered wickedly.  
  
Ephram gave her a confused look and turn back to face Mr. Donnell. He resumed his slouching position and said in a soft, yet amused, voice, "Tsuzuki of course. He's so funny! But then when he fights, he gets strong and serious."  
  
Ephram could only hear a stiffened giggle and he could guess that Wendy was satisfied with his answer. He gave a soft smile and began to copy notes that Mr. Donnell told them to copy. Somehow, he felt comforted now that his mind was off his mother. Instead, it was on the question that Wendy asked him. It didn't seem like a difficult question to answer. But Ephram began elaborating on his defense against Hisoka. Then, adding Muraki into the picture. Yup, Yami no Matsuei was definitely a good anime and hard to choose favorites.  
  
After class, Amy, Ephram, Wendell and Wendy walked out together. Amy and Wendy were still not on so good terms. However, they were willing to walk out together; as long as there were people in-between. Amy left the three soon, though. She spotted Collin, said her 'I'll catch up with you guys later' and ran off to give Collin a hug. Ephram felt a tug in his heart once he saw the two. He turned his head and focused on Wendell and Wendy.  
  
"Well Ephram?" Wendy said as she eyed Ephram curiously.  
  
Ephram turned around for another glance at Amy and then turned back to Wendy, "Uh..." he stuttered, "what?"  
  
He saw her glance behind him and she turned her head. After a split-second, she plastered a huge smile on her face and spoke in a jovial voice, "I said, 'Are you going to the formal?' What? Is it too hard of a question to answer? I know my Yami no Matsuei question got to you."  
  
He snapped out of another trance and spoke, "Oh yeah! Instead of Tsuzuki, I choose Muraki!"  
  
Wendell ignored his reply and told Wendy, "Since you two seem to be talking about something I have no interest in, I've got to go to make a few phone calls. See you later," he winked.  
  
Wendy smiled at his direction, waved, and said thanks. When she faced Ephram, he gave her a curious look that she ignored and walked off. Ephram followed her as usual and she suddenly turned around.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because he's a psycho that wants to kill his dead brother."  
  
"Good answer," she stated and continued, "Are you ever going to answer the question I asked before?"  
  
"Huh?" he thought about it for a second, "Oh! No, I'm not going." He turned his head.  
  
"Eh..." she said slyly, "Why not? I heard it's going to be fun!"  
  
"A couple of reasons why. Plus, me and social events don't exactly mix."  
  
"Oh yeah! I heard about that time at somebody's party. I can't remember who, but I heard you got drunk?"  
  
Ephram turned red, "Oh, another reason. Thanks for reminding me."  
  
Wendy tiptoed to pat Ephram on the head, "It's okay Ephram." She reached her natural height and smiled at him as usual, "It doesn't mean you'll get drunk again. Unless something really bad happens that involves a certain blonde with a boyfriend." She coughed.  
  
Ephram's eyes grew big and he started to walk away, "Now I know I'm definitely not going."  
  
She grabbed his fleeing arm and attempted to swing him around to face her, "Just messin' around. Don't get pissy. Come! I promise you'll have fun!"  
  
Ephram coughed out something but Wendy couldn't make out the words and said, "What did you say?" Ephram mumbled something and again, Wendy questioned him. Just when he was about to say it again, the second bell rung. They were going to be in trouble if they got caught roaming the halls. So Ephram hurried off to his locker, promising to tell her later in the lunchroom.  
  
The truth was that Ephram didn't have a date. He would've asked Amy, if only Collin was still in that coma. Amy was the only person he would even want to go with. Amy was the only female he talked to, well, besides Wendy. Wendy was just a friend to Ephram. He never even thought of asking Wendy because he knew she probably had a date already. Who it was remained a mystery to him.  
  
He gone to his locker and stuffed his books in it. He noticed his Geometry textbook and smacked his head. He forgot all about his lunch detention. He grabbed his textbook and scrambled towards his Geometry classroom. Wendy was going to hate him for breaking, yet another, promise. It was definitely a bad day for Ephram. 


	15. Brace Yourself

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
I might not be able to complete this fanfic but keep supporting me and maybe I will!  
Thank you and enjoy the story!  
  
  
Chapter 15  
Fourth period was coming to an end when Ephram was finally let out of the classroom. He rushed over to the lunchroom and over to where Wendy was having a discussion with Wendell.  
  
"Thanks Wendell, I really owe you one. Just don't tell anyone, okay?"  
  
"Tell anyone what?" Ephram asked.  
  
Wendell looked up to the tall figure while Wendy shuffled in her seat. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She turned to him and said in a rather aggravated voice, "You lied! You knew you had detention."  
  
Ephram glanced over at Wendell and was thankful that he told her, "I momentarily forgot."  
  
"I gotta make a few more phone calls about it, Wendy. Talk to you guys later," said Wendell as he rushed out.  
  
Wendy said 'bye' and turned to Ephram, "Anyway, what were you saying earlier before the bell rung?"  
  
"Oh that," he said, mumbling again afterwards.  
  
This time, Wendy had listened closely, "You don't have a date? Is that what you said?"  
  
He smiled sheepishly. "You know these formal things. They require dates. Otherwise, you'd look pretty silly being alone."  
  
"Oh," Wendy nodded in understanding. "See, I would ask you to go with me if that's all it takes for you to come." Wendy saw how Ephram was going to say something but continued before he could, "BUT! I don't think Wendell would appreciate me having two dates."  
  
Ephram's eyes grew huge in shock. He managed to stutter out, "You're actually... You're joking!"  
  
Wendy gave him a curious look, "What? What's wrong with me going with Wendell?"  
  
Ephram stared at her in shock. 'The girl doesn't even seem embarrass about it!' He was surprised because he remembered the first couple of days when Wendy would be extremely annoyed to have Wendell even two feet near her. But as he thought about it, now she seems to get along with him. He snapped out of his trance and saw that Wendy was still expecting an answer.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"What? Really?"  
  
"It's nothing."  
  
The bell rung, saving Ephram from the glare of Wendy. They quickly departed and Wendy went straight to class. The next two classes went by slowly and Wendy could feel eyes boring into her head during Geometry. When Wendy turned to surprise those eyes, they immediately turned and looked in the other direction. Wendy sighed and truly wondered why Amy was acting this way.  
  
She went to her next class and saw Collin on the way. He seemed to be stalling time as usual and when she walked into the classroom, he followed. He began his usual greeting.  
  
"Come, Wendy!"  
  
She sighed rather loudly and replied in an exasperated voice, "Okay! I'll go!"  
  
"Come on, Wendy! It's not going to be-" he sudden realized her words, "Oh! You're going?" He began to jump in joy, purposely acting like a cocaine-overdosed cheerleader.  
  
Wendy began to laugh at the silly cheerleader and he pouted. He began to fake cry and act like a baby. "Mommy! Stop making fun of me!" he wailed.  
  
Wendy walked up to him and tiptoed to pat him on the head like a dog, "It's okay, doggy. Now sit!" The dog sat as commanded.  
  
Wendy laughed once again and Collin resumed his natural posture. "So who you going with? That Ephram guy? I know you got the hots for him," he winked.  
  
Wendy turned a little red but went unnoticed, "Oh yes I do. He's so hott," she began to fan herself. "But he rejected me," she wiped a fake tear from her face, "so I'm going with someone else."  
  
"Oh?" he gave her a wicked grin, "Who? Bright?"  
  
She blinked, 'Bright? Oh yeah, he asked me.' She stared at Collin, "Nope. Keep on guessing."  
  
The second bell rang and everybody scrambled to his or her respective seats. Collin kept quiet and did the work that Mr. Bennett assigned. He passed a note to Wendy and she looked at it in disbelief. Listed in the note were all the guys that were in Wendy's Spanish, Dance and Algebra class that he knew of. There were a few names she didn't recognize, but she suspected that they were the popular guys. However, none of the names were "Wendell." She wrote back to him, "None of these." She could see him having his turn in disbelief. He wrote back, asking whom, and all Wendy did was write, "You'll see Friday night."  
  
Friday night approached quickly. Wendy worked for a few hours after school and then Geno let Wendy out early. She hurried home and got ready for the formal in about an hour. She retrieved the dress from Wendell the day after he asked her. She hadn't had the time to even take a glimpse at it. She wasn't even the one who brought it in the house. It was Aaron who answered the door and retrieved the dress from the shivering Wendell. Wendy was too busy working.  
  
So finally, Wendy braced herself to see the dress. She pulled down the zipper to remove the covering and soon the dress was completely revealed. It reminded her of the Little Mermaid. To her, it looked like the dress Ariel wore when King Triton turned her human. Only, the dress didn't shimmer or was grayish. The dress was white and faded to a light orange on the bottom. Wendy laughed when she noticed it. Wendell probably got this particular dress because of her orange-dyed hair.  
  
Wendy quickly changed and presented herself in front of Aaron. "An-ge! How do I look?"  
  
Aaron looked up from his books and stared at Wendy, "Is that the dress that kid brought over the other day?" Wendy gave him a hard look. "It looks fabulous on you, Jie."  
  
"Thanks, An-ge. And yes it is." The doorbell rang. "Here he is now. I gotta go An-ge. I'll be home later. Bye!" and the figure disappeared out the front door after slipping on a pair of high-heels. 


	16. Big Bash

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
  
A/N: I've been trying to make everybody in character but it's pretty difficult. If Wendy ever seems out of character, that's because that's how she's supposed to be. Wendell and Amy are REALLY out of character but do try to bear with me. It serves a purpose. =] Thanks and sorry if I took so long to update. I got stuck. _ Anyway thank you to my devoted reader and friend, JEMMA, for bugging me to update haha ^^;; On with the story~ BTW, the next chapter will be up soon since I've written most of it.  
  
  
Chapter 16  
Wendell stared at the figure that shuffled before him. "You look beautiful, Wendy," he said in awe. He placed a look on his face and continued. "Now you're finally up to my neck!" he joked.  
  
Wendell held out his hand and Wendy gladly took it. They talked about a variety of things while walking to the school. Being that the local high school wasn't too far, they were both comfortable walking. The couple soon arrived at the school. Wendell beamed when he saw the mesmerized faces of the majority of the male population. Wendy ignored the ignorant comments she heard and chatted a little with others who weren't so judgmental. Wendell followed, putting a firm hold on Wendy's waist to show that she was with him.  
  
A little while later, Colin and Amy showed up. Amy wasn't slightly disappointed that she didn't receive the attention she expected. She soon found out the reason why and all her joy flew out the open double doors. Colin noticed the slight change in Amy's posture and began to comfort her. He knew she had a problem with Wendy, but he couldn't figure out why.  
  
"Come on, Amy. We're here to have fun. Don't let her presence get to you, okay? Everything's fine," Colin whispered, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He gave her a small peck on the cheek and led them to a table where their other friends sat.  
  
Meanwhile, Wendy was teaching Wendell how to dance. He started to get the hang of it but then gave up after a while. He left to go get them something to drink and Wendy was left alone. She searched the room for Ephram, just in case he came. She tried to find him a date for the formal but none of her new girl friends would go with him. Their excuses were either they weren't going or that they already had a date. But Wendy knew for a fact that they were lying. She could see them squeaming under her eyes. She sighed and gave up once she saw Wendell returning with the drinks.  
  
They found a vacant table and sat down. They talked and laughed a little more together. Across the room, she could see Colin trying to get her attention. When he finally did, he grinned and waved at her to come over. Wendy smiled reluctantly and got up from her chair. She grabbed Wendell's hand and dragged him along with her. As she neared the overcrowded table, she recognized people and distinguished them from her classes. She said 'hi' to everybody, as did Wendell.  
  
"You look splendid tonight, milady," Colin said in a fake British accent.  
  
Wendy responded with the same accent, "Why thank you mister. I do believe you and your date look charming as well."  
  
Colin looked over at the scowl plastered on his girlfriend's face and smiled sheepishly. He chuckled a little and they continued having small talk. Wendell tugged at Wendy's arm discreetly, wanting to dance with her. Wendy guessed he wasn't comfortable with the 'popular' crowd and would rather try to dance than to 'socialize.' She smiled and excused herself from the table to the dance floor with Wendell having off her arm. They continued dancing and adrenaline pumped throughout their bodies. They were having a great time.  
  
A while later after Wendell reluctantly allowed Wendy to dance with other guys, Wendy came back with her face flushed. Wendell excused himself to get some drinks for her. He came back a moment later, balancing the drinks. Suddenly Kayla, a classmate of theirs, ran through the crowd and accidentally bumped into Wendell. A gasp escaped the figure as she noticed Wendy's dress.  
  
The punch that Wendell brought splashed onto Wendy's dress and did not blend too well with its color. Immediately Wendell and Kayla ran to the nearest table to grab some napkins. Wendy stood in her place, stunned. Being that Kayla grabbed the napkins first, she attempted to brush the stains off, muttering fake apologies every once and a while. Her attempts only helped smudge each stain into an even larger one. A small smirk was visible and Wendy noticed it. She immediately tore away from Kayla with an evil glare.  
  
"It's alright Kayla," she said, grinding her teeth. She looked at her borrowed dress. The material was now see-through because of the liquid. Wendell approached with napkins in hand and Wendy immediately coward behind him. She whispered into his ears about the situation and he turned a little red. He backed away from her and pulled off his jacket and placed it around her. A small crowd had gathered, including a stunned Colin, a twinkling Amy and smirking Bright.  
  
"Whoa! You should show more, more often, Wendy!" Bright winked, easing the tension gathered.  
  
Wendy was not in the mood to be teased and just glared at Bright. She didn't feel like being taunted after the dress had been ruined and she had been embarrassed in front of the whole school. She had an urge to just cry but didn't, knowing it would satisfy Amy and Kayla beyond belief. Wendy willed herself to not cry and whispered to Wendell that she wanted to go home.  
  
The night was still young but nevertheless, Wendell agreed, saying that she owed him one. Wendell proceeded to guild Wendy out the door, pushing away anyone who got in their way, sort of threatening them with some information. Wendy wasn't paying attention so she didn't realize how Wendell protected her. Anger and sadness just blinded her, reminding her of everything that happened. She didn't even realized that she became a zombie for about an hour after she returned home... 


	17. Valentine's Day

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
  
A/N: Sorry, I've been busy and forgot to finish writing the chapter ^^;; So I wrote this chapter extra long! Enjoy =]  
  
  
Chapter 17  
Months have gone by after the incident at the Winter Formal. The week after, the whole school heard about what happened. She usually had guys staring her, but ignored the feeling. People still conversed with her and that's all that mattered to her. She was still upset but barely anybody brought it up. If they had, it usually came out as a joke.  
  
As Wendy was walking home from work, she began to read a new book entitled "Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card. The weather was still quite cold, so every once and a while, Wendy would pull her thick jacket closer to her as she read. Finally, her eyes began to hurt from reading too much and she closed the book. She looked up and observed her surroundings. She had gotten accustomed to the town and continued to navigate through the dark streets. Her eyes finally recognized the various shades of red and pink that inhabited stores. She then realized that Valentine's Day was the next day.  
  
She thought for a second if she actually wanted to celebrate it. There's no harm, she thought and walked into a sweets store.  
  
Now she thought about which custom should she celebrate it in. Wanting to feel unique, she decided to go along with the Japanese tradition of Valentine's Day. The tradition was that the females would give chocolates to those they love. Of course, Wendy didn't really love anybody except Aaron so she thought she'd just give chocolates to people that she liked too.  
  
She bought a nice chocolate heart for Aaron. She thought who else should she buy chocolate for. Instead of wanting to stay in the shop a little longer, Wendy decided not to since she still needed plenty of time to do homework once she returned home. She just grabbed four more chocolate designs and paid for them with some money from her paychecks.  
  
She then hurried home and prepared dinner. Aaron was already home but he was also working on his homework. She quickly made a meal to eat and after an hour later, she called Aaron to dinner. They ate with vivid conversation with usual talk about their day and dinner went by quickly. Wendy placed the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and got it started. After she was done with all domestic work, she went and completed her homework.  
  
When she was finally done with her homework, it was ten thirty. It was lucky that she finished part of her homework during school otherwise she wouldn't be getting much sleep every night. Wendy rested against her chair that was in front of the computer on the desk table. She picked up the small brown bag on the side of the table and emptied its contents. The five chocolate bundles sprinkled onto the desk.  
  
Wendy then grabbed the larger heart-shaped chocolate and labeled it, "To: Aaron, From: your great sis, Wendy, Happy V-day." Satisfied with that, she set it aside, trying to remind herself to deliver it in the morning when he dropped her off. Wanting to give something to Wendell for all the support he's given her, she picked up a small yellow box filled with chocolate pieces and wrote a 'thank-you' note to him. She picked up the next one and it had a solid green wrapping. It reminded her of Colin for some odd reason, so she decided to give it to him since he was such a great friend. The third one was small with flower designs.  
  
"This is definitely going to Sam," she said to herself as she looked at the size and covering. "It really fits him," and she laughed softly.  
  
The last one was a small, violet, rectangular-shaped chocolate. She hit herself on the head for not thinking of it before. "Ephram!" She was definitely going to give a chocolate for him and the one she held was perfect for him. The violet would represent his hair and the shape would represent the mangas he carries around with him. With all that done and figured out, she had a good night's rest.  
  
The next morning she woke up and got ready as usual. She woke Aaron up and packed up the chocolates. She was going to surprise Aaron with the chocolates. After she did that, she grabbed all her school supplies and placed it on the couch. She cooked scrambled eggs for the two to eat and Aaron floated down the steps, smelling the aroma. They ate the meal, conversed a little and then headed out. Aaron continued to drive her to school even though he didn't have to. He felt as if it was a responsibility of his.  
  
Wendy slammed the door shut, waved at Aaron and ran off. That was when Aaron noticed the little bundle that fell into the seat after Wendy slammed the door. He read the tiny card that was attached to it and smiled. He already knew what culture she took this idea, therefore enabling him to know what she truly meant. He drove off with a thought, knowing what he was to do on White Day.  
  
Meanwhile Wendy chuckled to herself and headed towards her locker. On her way she saw Colin and Ephram talking a little. She ran over to them, swung her arms around their shoulders and applied weight so that she was at level with them.  
  
"Hey, guys! What's up?" she smiled, falling back down.  
  
"You know, for a little girl, you weigh, ah!" Colin rubbed his shoulder, "so much."  
  
Wendy pouted and lightly punched Colin in the shoulder.  
  
"Hey, Wendy. You know, Wendy, Colin's right. Maybe you should lose some weight," Ephram smiled.  
  
Wendy grunted, "I guess you two don't want any chocolate, huh? Okay, more for other people." Wendy shrugged and walked away towards her locker.  
  
Colin and Ephram immediately dashed to Wendy's side. "Did you say chocolate?"  
  
"No, I said 'spinach," she said with sarcasm dripping on her every word. She pulled out the two small bundles that she labeled the night before. "Want it? You want it?" she taunted.  
  
Ephram turned and started to walk away, "It's not really so special."  
  
Seeing his reaction, Wendy threw the purple bundle at Ephram. "Na shi wo de ai (that is my love)! Of course it's special!"  
  
"What?" they both said, confused at the phrase she yelled quickly.  
  
"Nan demo nai!" she threw the second package she had at Colin and ran off to her locker.  
Colin stared at Ephram. "THAT, I understood. It's Japanese for, basically, 'it's nothing.' She knows too much." Ephram shook his head in shame.  
  
Wendy laughed for the second time that day. She walked towards her locker with a smile on her face, recalling all that happened so far. But once Wendy caught sight of Amy and her band of friends, the smile fell. She continued walking silently, noticing the beautiful red roses Amy was carrying, the cards she was reading and the budge in her backpack. Wendy turned her head away and just stared in front of her with an expressionless face.  
  
However, Wendy's sudden change did not go unnoticed. Monica, a petite follower, whispered in a few other girls' ears and drew a wicked grin. As soon as Wendy and the crowd went passed each other, Monica forcefully shoved and Melissa jovially lent out a foot. Wendy gave a yelp as she was about to fall but she caught herself. She regained her balance and threw a hard look at the crowd.  
  
Time stood still for a moment. No one moved except the band of girls. Most of them were giggling and throwing snide remarks at Wendy, egging her on. Amy did nothing and only stared; her eyes filled with shock and remorse. Wendy stood still and stared at the ground. Finally, Wendy made a move. She slowly tore her gaze off the ground and made a fist. She walked towards Monica and Melissa with her eyes burning. In one swift move, they were both holding their nose and crying in pain. Tiny blood drops dripped from the wound.  
  
"Leave me alone," was all that was said before Wendy turned her heels and walked away. 


	18. Regret

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
  
A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm being pestered to complete the story *coughcough*. But after I'm done writing everything (not necessarily posting), I will be editing the WHOLE story, more or less. I'm probably just going to make the first few chapters longer and find more grammer mistakes. Anyway, enjoy!!  
  
  
Chapter 18  
Wendy slowly walked away from the scene with her eyes brimming with tears. She turned the corner and into a bathroom. Once she entered a stall, she slid on the door and wound up in the fetal position. What have I done? She repeated to herself. She looked at her knuckles. A few drops of blood could be seen. She crawled towards the roll of tissue hanging in the small compartment and took a few sheets. She wiped the redness off of her and willed herself not to cry over such a thing.  
  
"They deserved it," she said to herself quietly.  
  
But her mind fought with her. But you should've controlled your temper, it said. Don't you remember what happened last time you lost your temper?  
  
"How could I forget?" she scolded herself.  
  
She leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. Why would I forget? If it wasn't for me... If I hadn't done that... Then maybe...?  
  
The fierce slamming of the door hitting the wall soon interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Damn that bitch!" a female spoke. "She ruined my face. Man, my nose is still bleeding. God! I hope she gets in trouble by the school board. You think the principal believed us when we told them she just came out of nowhere and attacked us?"  
  
"He better believe us! But I think he didn't since he asked us like five billion times whether we provoked her or not," her companion said in an annoyed voice. She glanced at the first girl, Monica, "Ew! Just go back to the nurse already. She should be able to stop the bleeding."  
  
"Fine!" she stalked out of the bathroom and slammed the door against the wall again on the way out.  
  
Wendy listened for another thud of the door closing before getting out of the stall. She opened the faucet water and washed her face. What should I do now, she asked herself. Should I just turn myself in? Would I receive a lesser punishment? They should at least hear my side of the story.  
  
"Oh what's the use?" she sighed out-loud. "There will still be the same outcome..."  
  
Wendy slapped herself a few times before she strolled out of the bathroom. She received a few stares from her fellow peers but she controlled herself. She was stopped in the hall by a tall figure. She looked up and saw it was Wendell. She smiled at him and reached into her book bag.  
  
"Wendy! What happened today? All these rumors are going around saying that you assaulted some followers of Amy," he said to her in concern. He looked around and noticed the attention. He pulled her into an empty classroom. "Are you listening to me, Wendy?"  
  
"Of course, I'm listening! Here, this is for you," she handed him the yellow box.  
  
He examined the box, whispered a little 'thanks' and suddenly shook his head violently. "Wendy, what happened?"  
  
"Why exactly do you want to know? Because you want to know exactly everything that goes around here?" she said with anger escaping her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."  
  
His eyes grew huge with shock. "You know, you're right. Forget it then. I have some business to attend to right now. Monica wants another date with Bright again, and you know how much he detests her AND me. So it's going to take awhile," he said with a fake half smile and began to walk away.  
  
"Wait, Wendell."  
  
He turned his face slightly. "It's alright. I might not even have time to listen. Class, you know? You should get going too." He continued to walk out of the door.  
  
"I'll..." Wendell stopped walking. "I'll tell you what happened...everything."  
  
That was when Wendell turned around completely. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Wendy kept her head down. "What happened in Philadelphia that made me so moody and what happened just a while ago... I'll tell you... Just don't...denounce our friendship..."  
  
Tears were starting to build up but Wendy kept it in. She looked up at Wendell with a fake smile glued to her face. She looked as if she was in pain. Her fake smile didn't seem too real anymore.  
"I would never," he said, "but tell me later. Business and class awaits me. See ya."  
  
Wendy stayed in her spot way after the second bell rang. After about five minutes, she staggered out of the classroom and walked straight to the principal's office. She was ready to face the principal now. She was ready to receive her punishment. But also, she was ready to tell her side of the story as payback. Who was the principal supposed to listen to? A diligent girl with a pretty good record or two girls that didn't have such good grades and received detentions left and right. Wendy was definitely ready. 


	19. Punishment

This is an Everwood fanfic written by me, kaze.  
Please do not steal and say it's yours. Ask me for permission to post it up or something.  
Characters are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and belong to Gregory Berlanti.  
However, Aaron and Wendy are MINE.  
  
A/N: Okay, I've gotten lazy. I didn't edit the whole story. Maybe later. First I'll just finish writing the rest of the story before I decide to rewrite everything. Thanks for your patience.  
Chapter 19  
Wendy stepped out of the principal's office. She walked to the side of the door and banged her head against the wall. 'Ugh! This has definitely, NOT, been a good day.' Wendy had still managed to earn herself a nice little detention.  
  
"Even if you were provoked, you did not have to act on it." The principal's voice rang throughout Wendy's mind. The next couple of sentences really surprised Wendy, though. She didn't know that her old school knew what she had done in the past.  
  
"We've checked our files. You always had such good grades. You're a remarkable student. However, how did these discipline slips get mixed in with this pile?"  
  
Wendy continued to attend class throughout the day. However, she didn't talk to anyone. Finally, after three periods of people talking behind her back, she left. It was lunch so instead of heading towards the library or the lunchroom, Wendy went outside through the backdoor.  
  
She didn't really care if she got into more trouble. 'Aaron will understand when they find out. He's the only one that ever does anyway...' She walked towards a woody area with trees coming to life. She placed her backpack against a specific tree with fungus growing near it. She laid on her backpack, staring at the bright sun. The harsh, cold wind blew against her body, making her shiver unwillingly.  
  
There she laid. Still. Dead.  
  
She ignored her surroundings: the bells, the announcements... everything. Wendy just laid there and thought about her life. She thought about the people in her life: Aaron, Wendell, Colin, Ephram, and Amy. She thought about how they treated her. But Wendy just could not understand why they treated her so differently. She couldn't understand it and she didn't want to understand it.  
  
The bell rung for the last time for today. Wendy counted the number of bells rung unconsciously. She stood up from her spot and entered the building. She headed straight for the principal's office again. There, she faced even more punishment for cutting three important classes.  
  
She had detention for three more days, one for each period she cut. Wendy didn't say anything and continued to listen to the principal's lecture. It was a little while longer until she was excused to go to the office for her detention.  
  
Her detention consisted of work, work and more work. It was as if nobody in the office did any work so they just left it to any bad students who had detention. But then an attendant explained that they would rarely let any student handle important roster information, however, since Wendy was such a diligent student, they figured that they could unload the responsibility onto Wendy.  
  
It wasn't until 4:00 when Wendy was let out of detention. She served an hour detention and if she didn't run home, she would be late for work. She grabbed her backpack and ran home once the attendant allowed Wendy to leave. There, she scribbled a sorry note to Aaron and quickly changed into her work clothes. By the time she arrived at Gino's, she was about ten minutes late. Gino accepted the apology and immediately set her to work.  
  
Wendy returned home and was faced by a stoic Aaron. "An-ge..." she started.  
  
"Qing zuo, xiao jie," he said. [Please sit, miss.]  
  
Wendy sat down on the coach across from Aaron. She began to tell everything to Aaron in Mandarin. It made her feel better if she spoke to someone in her family's native language. If it made her feel better, then she wouldn't be so angry nor would she have the urge to cry.  
  
Aaron absorbed Wendy's words like a sponge. After Wendy finished her thought-out speech in her broken Mandarin, Wendy sighed and attempted to blind herself from the ceiling lights. Aaron stood up from his seat and sat next to Wendy. He held her tight and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Mei shi le, xiao jie, mei shi le. Fa xian de shi yi jian guo le," he comforted. [It's okay, miss, it's okay. The things that happened has already passed.]  
  
"Xie xie ni, An-ge," she whispered. [Thank you.] "Xie xie ni ting wo shuo shen me. Ru guo mei you ni... wo bu zhi dao wo zuo shen me." [Thank you for listening to what I have to say. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what I'd do.] 


End file.
